Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Accel Wealth Management

Accel Wealth Management reduced its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,516 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 126 shares during the period. Accel Wealth Management’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $285,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter valued at about $426,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 20.9% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,329,644 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $138,163,000 after acquiring an additional 230,100 shares during the last quarter. Scientech Research LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $384,000. Sepio Capital LP raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sepio Capital LP now owns 211,699 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $21,998,000 after purchasing an additional 8,892 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 267.6% during the second quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc now owns 6,793 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $706,000 after purchasing an additional 4,945 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT opened at $125.12 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year high of $125.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $217.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60. The company’s fifty day moving average is $115.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.31.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11,029,400 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. This is an increase from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ABT. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $129.00 price target (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, October 14th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $132.50.

About Abbott Laboratories

Abbott Laboratories, together with its subsidiaries, discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells health care products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The company provides generic pharmaceuticals for the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, irritable bowel syndrome or biliary spasm, intrahepatic cholestasis or depressive symptoms, gynecological disorder, hormone replacement therapy, dyslipidemia, hypertension, hypothyroidism, Ménière’s disease and vestibular vertigo, pain, fever, inflammation, and migraine, as well as provides anti-infective clarithromycin, influenza vaccine, and products to regulate physiological rhythm of the colon.